Additional Info

Spanish-Speaking Lawyers Committee

MISSION

The CBA’s Spanish Speaking Lawyers Committee ("SSLC") provides a forum for Spanish-speaking legal professionals to build a network and engage in service projects benefiting Colorado's Spanish-speaking community. SSLC seeks to fulfill its mission by pursuing a variety of goals: Increase Spanish language proficiency among legal professionals; Explore and expand legal resources available to Colorado Spanish-speakers; Foster connections and share information to help members effectively represent their clients; Seek opportunities for international exchanges, dialogues, and partnerships among attorneys, judges, and other legal associations; Conduct community outreach and education addressing legal issues that impact the Spanish-speaking community; Promote access to justice for Colorado Spanish-speakers by collaborating with courts, bar associations, law schools, and other legal service organizations.

2014 BOARD MEMBERS

Roberto Ramirez, Committee Chair

Katharine Speer, Immediate Past Chair

Anna Martinez, Vice Chair

Veronique Van Gheem, Secretary

Grace Chisholm, Tech, Web & Communications

GET INVOLVED!

Whether you are a beginning Spanish-speaker or fully fluent, there are many opportunities to get involved! We welcome all levels of Spanish-speakers.

Come to one of our monthly meetings or happy hours to network with other Spanish-speaking legal professionals. See our events page to learn more about our services in your area. For more information or to become a member, contact the SSLC Committee Chair at ColoradoSpanishSpeakingLawyers@gmail.com.

PRESUMED GUILTY / PRESUNTO CULPABLE

Please join?us for a free screening of “Presumed Guilty/Presunto Culpable.”

This amazing documentary investigates the legal system in Mexico through the unprecedented filming of a criminal trial.

Come and find out why immigrant crime victims are hesitant to report crimes and assist law enforcement, why immigrant defendants have a difficult time trusting their own lawyers, and what roles trial and appellate court judges play in Latin America.

This is a fascinating program since it is from the Court’s perspective. This webinar is extremely helpful in understanding state and federal law related to the influx of unaccompanied minors.

The National Center for State Courts, in partnership with Casey Family Programs, recently hosted a webinar, “Crossing the Border: How the Unaccompanied Minor Crisis Will Impact Your Court,” to help state courts across the country learn how this issue could impact them.

Panelists presented statistics on this recent trend, explained the state courts' role, shared effective court practices, and provided recommendations for state courts to prepare for this influx of unaccompanied children.

Panelists included Judge Patricia A. Macias (ret.), Casey Family Programs; John Martin, Ph.D., Center for Public Policy Studies; and David Slayton, Administrative Director of Office of Court Administration, Texas.

CURRENT HAPPENINGS:

- Defending the Dignity of Work –

Towards Justice is recruiting bilingual (English and Spanish) legal intake volunteers to help respond to the tremendous need in the Latino community for legal representation in wage theft and other employment law matters. This is a great opportunity to give back, and to collaborate with an exciting, entrepreneurial legal-services organization. Join us!

Upcoming Volunteer Trainings:

Towards Justice has two upcoming trainings for interested volunteers:

-Monday January 12, 2015 from 5-7pm

-Wednesday January 21, 2015 from 4-6pm

Other trainings may be scheduled depending on demand, so bring your friends! All trainings will be held at 1535 High Street, just north of Colfax Avenue, in Denver.

Host Organization: Towards Justice defends economic stability for working families by providing direct legal services to low-wage, immigrant workers, facilitating access to justice in wage theft cases, and strengthening state and municipal worker protections. Meanwhile, Towards Justice uses hard data to change the conversation about the immigrant workforce in Colorado, and to enhance the legal and reputational repercussions for abusive employment practices.

Bilingual Legal Intake Volunteer Opportunity: This opportunity is ideal for an individual comfortable communicating in both Spanish and English who is interested in protecting low-wage, immigrant workers from employment law abuses. The Volunteer will have the opportunity to interact directly with potential clients, develop detailed factual records, and update case tracking systems. This experience will not only provide professional development opportunities, but also personal fulfillment.

Qualifications:

Bilingual in Spanish and English

Committed to empowering marginalized workers and expanding access to justice

Preparing to serve as a Bilingual Legal Intake Volunteer requires participation in one, two (2) hour training session at Towards Justice, and a commitment to working with Towards Justice for three to five hours per week for +/-10 weeks. Upcoming trainings are scheduled for January 2015. Other trainings may be scheduled depending on demand, so bring your friends!

Compensation:

Bilingual Legal Intake Volunteers generously volunteer their time to Towards Justice, and become part of a passionate team committed to defending the dignity of hard work.

Application Instructions:

If you are interested in joining our team, please email us atin...@towardsjustice.org Give a sense of your experience working with marginalized populations, your commitment to helping the Latino community in Colorado, and your ability to donate your time to Towards Justice. Please also let us know which upcoming training you plan to attend. Thank you! We look forward to working with you.

Nuestras Cortes

“Our Courts” is a joint activity of the Colorado Judicial Institute and the Colorado Bar Association that provides nonpartisan information programs to audiences around the state to further public knowledge and understanding of the state and federal courts in Colorado.

Volunteer attorneys, law students, and judges have been to numerous communities in Colorado and some in Wyoming. This program has been acknowledged both regionally and nationally, including praise from United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

The Our Courts Hispanic Outreach (OCHO) is a subsection of “Our Courts.” Please join judges from the Colorado Court of Appeals for a free training. There is no commitment that you join the subcommittee or volunteer. Simply take a little time out of your Saturday for a great nationally recognized program.

When: Saturday, February 7th at 9:00 am

Where: Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center

2 East 14th Avenue, Denver, CO 80203

RSVP: RamirezRoberto1@gmail.com

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This new comprehensive bilingual legal dictionary is intended for all people who deal with Spanish speaking clients with legal documents from other countries. The editor of this dictionary is a staff interpreter of the Colorado Courts with 25 years of court interpreting experience. He has also applied his extensive experience as a language teacher to ensure that this dictionary will be valuable for court interpreters, attorneys, and law students. It is an excellent study resource for those who wish to improve their legal vocabulary in Spanish and English, and especially to prepare for court interpreter certification exams. The dictionary is full of legal terminology currently used in courtrooms and legal documents in the U.S.A. and Latin America.

The CBA’s Spanish Speaking Lawyers Committee provides a forum where Spanish-speaking legal professionals may develop and broaden the existing Spanish legal resources. We seek to share legal resources which will allow members to effectively represent their clients. We look to increase the level of Spanish proficiency in the Colorado legal system. We strive to identify opportunities for international exchanges between attorneys, judges, and other legal associations. Additionally, we help the needs of the Spanish-speaking communities in order to promote fair access to the legal system through a collaboration of the courts, bar associations, law schools, and other legal service organizations.

2013 BOARD MEMBERS

Katharine Speer, Committee Chair

Roberto Ramirez, Immediate Past Chair

Anna Martinez, Vice Chair

Veronique Van Gheem, Secretary

GET INVOLVED!

Whether you are a beginning Spanish-speaker or fully fluent, there are many opportunities to get involved! We welcome all levels of Spanish-speakers.